Chelsea might have the subsequent Lampard who’s shining out on mortgage

Frank Lampard is a reputation that may without end be etched in Chelsea historical past, after his contributions on and off the pitch throughout his 13 years as a participant and two separate stints as supervisor.

The 46-year-old made a complete of 648 appearances for the Blues, registering a complete of 211 objectives – making him essentially the most prolific participant within the membership’s historical past, regardless of being a midfielder.

His tally noticed him overtake Bobby Tambling, together with his document nonetheless intact right now and definitely going to take some beating within the years to come back.

Upon his retirement from skilled soccer, Lampard took the plunge into administration, taking on at Chelsea after 12 months of being Derby County boss.

Nevertheless, he would face the chop in January 2021, earlier than returning on a short lived foundation on the finish of the 2022/23 season, earlier than Mauricio Pochettino took over completely that summer time.

Since his retirement, the Blues have discovered it troublesome to switch the Englishman, particularly together with his goalscoring potential – however many thought the search had come to an finish with the signing of 1 participant in January 2023.

Enzo Fernández’s stats for Chelsea

Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández value Chelsea a whopping £106.8m – a deal that was an English document till Moises Caicedo arrived at Stamford Bridge final summer time for £115m.

While he’s a midfielder, his tally of 4 objectives and 6 assists throughout the first half of the 2022/23 marketing campaign evidently caught the attention of the Blues hierarchy, resulting in the mammoth switch price.

Fernandez has since made 76 appearances in all competitions, scoring seven instances – with all of his efforts coming final season – together with an excellent free-kick towards Aston Villa within the FA Cup.

Nevertheless, with the appointment of Enzo Maresca, the 23-year-old has struggled to make a better influence, beginning simply six video games within the Premier League thus far, falling behind Roméo Lavia within the pecking order in current weeks.

It’s protected to say his head might have been turned by current occasions, which have seen Spanish giants Actual Madrid touted with a transfer for his companies, in a switch that might see French worldwide Aurelien Tchouameni transfer in the wrong way.

He nonetheless has all of the qualities to stay a key participant for the Italian, as proven within the current Europa Convention League conflict with FC Noah, registering three assists within the first half earlier than being changed by Cesare Casadei on the break.

Nevertheless, he might battle to regain his place within the squad when one participant returns from his present mortgage spell away from the Premier League outfit.

The participant who may very well be Lampard’s inheritor for Chelsea

Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos is a participant who has actual potential to be an enormous participant for Chelsea for a few years to come back – after becoming a member of in a £18m deal again in January 2023.

He was despatched on a season-long mortgage to fellow top-flight facet Nottingham Forest final summer time, however was subsequently recalled only a handful of months later after making simply two appearances below Steve Cooper on the Metropolis Floor.

Santos would be part of Ligue 1 facet Strasbourg on mortgage from January to the top of the marketing campaign, making 11 appearances, scoring simply as soon as – however linking again up with the French facet for the present season.

The 20-year-old “monster”, as dubbed by Brazilian soccer journalist Nathan Joyes, has already bagged 5 objectives in his first 9 Ligue 1 outings, with solely 4 gamers within the division outscoring him so far.

He may fill the boots of fan-favourite Lampard together with his goalscoring exploits, however he’s additionally showcased that he’s in a position to do the soiled work regardless of his tender age, profitable a mean of 2.3 tackles per 90 together with eight duels received per 90.

Santos undoubtedly has an extended solution to go together with his improvement till he reaches his full potential, however the early indicators are nothing however optimistic, making him a viable box-to-box choice for Maresca within the close to future.

It may see Fernandez drop additional down the pecking order when the Brazilian returns to Stamford Bridge subsequent summer time, including additional ache to the Argentine after his current decline in first-team minutes.

The teen is proof that the membership’s technique of investing in youth expertise will be profitable, with the Blues set to reap the rewards of Santos’ plain high quality for a few years to come back.

Associated

Chelsea main race to signal “monstrous” £66m Nkunku improve

Chelsea are main the race for a brand new purpose machine, as they appear to improve on Nkunku